「经济学人」Magic money trees

文章预览

Magic money trees Deforestation is costing Brazilian farmers millions Without trees to circulate moisture, the land is getting hotter and drier DECADES OF INCREASING maize and soyabean production have turned Brazil into an agricultural powerhouse. They have also led to the destruction of vast swathes of the Amazon rainforest. That has long put farmers and environmentalists at loggerheads. But a study released in October by the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) shows the extent to which deforestation is hurting farmers too. The report shows that the practice of clear-cutting (removing all trees from a given area) in the Brazilian Amazon led to reduced crop yields, resulting in total economic losses of around $1bn between 2006 and 2019. After accounting for production costs, the net revenues for soyabeans dropped by 10% over that time, while maize revenues dropped by 20%. Beyond the balance-sheet, Anders Krogh, a specialist forest adviser at ………………………………